A Menai family had an intruder of the slithering kind in their home this afternoon.
The Owen household had the unfortunate experience of finding a 1.4 metre red-bellied snake weaving its way through their lounge room.
A member of the family was at home when when she heard a noise and looked over to see a snake in the dining room.
''I got the shock of my life then alerted my mum. She was also very shocked. We then yelled out to my brother who was upstairs. He was confused and thought we were joking until he saw the snake,’’ Kayla said on Facebook.
The family retreated to a safe area of the home before contacting police and a snake catcher.
Police from Sutherland police station were able to secure the red-belly to one area of the home before Andrew Melrose from Shire Snake Catchers quickly and safely caught the snake and removed it from the home.
He later released it into bushland some distance from the home.
“We've lived here for 16 years and have never had a snake inside our home,'' the Owen family said on Facebook.
Following the Leader’s story on January 2 a number of shire residents shared their snake sightings on the Leader’s Facebook page including a chilling photo of a snake hanging on the screen door of a home at Heathcote East.